Shaker-Style Lemon Pie

Cook’s notes: Start the recipe on the day before you wish to bake; the sliced lemons need time to macerate in the sugar. Food writer P. Allen Smith says, “This lemon pie is excellent served with fresh whipped cream, a sprinkle of powdered sugar, and a sprig of mint for a beautiful presentation. It’s a delicious taste of summer anyone would want to try.”

Day 1 Ingredients
4 large lemons
2 cups of sugar (or less)

DAY 1 Steps
Zest each lemon over a large plastic (or non-reactive) bowl. Cut off and discard the remaining lemon peel and white pith. Slice each lemon into thin slices, removing seeds. Pour any juice created during this step into the large bowl. Combine lemon slices, zest, juice, and sugar in the large bowl. Gently combine with a rubber spatula or wooden spoon. Fully coat the lemon slices with the sugar.

Cover the mix of lemon parts and sugar. Refrigerate for 12 to 24 hours.

Day 2 Ingredients
2 deep dish pie crusts (store-bought frozen crusts made without lard work great)
2 Tbsp butter, softened
4 eggs, beaten

DAY 2 Steps
Heat oven to 375F. If crusts are frozen, thaw them.

Spread the softened butter on the bottom pie crust, as if you are buttering bread.

Add beaten eggs to lemon mixture; mix well. Pour mixture into crust, arranging lemon slices evenly. Cover with the top crust. Cut several slits near center.

Bake for 45 minutes. The pie may need an additional 15 minutes in the oven until done: crust is golden and the filling doesn’t jiggle.

Adapted from a recipe originally printed in Norma MacMillan’s book In a Shaker Kitchen: 100 Recipes from the Shaker Tradition with refinements from Nigella Lawson’s book How To Eat.

One-Bowl Peach and Blueberry Cobbler

Cook’s notes: The batter puffs up over the fruit. Frozen and canned fruit work just as well as fresh in this delicious recipe. Double the recipe: Use a 9×13-inch dish.
1 cup buttermilk pancake mix
4 Tbsp (1/2  stick) butter
1/3 cup sugar (reduced from 1/2 cup)
3 cups sliced peaches (1 x 25 oz jar peaches, 14 oz net weight, drained)
1/2 cup milk
1 cup blueberries (we use frozen)
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

Heat oven to 375 F. Coat a 2-quart glass pan (either 8-inches square or a 9-inch glass pie pan) with cooking spray.

Melt butter right in the baking dish and use it as the mixing bowl. Add pancake mix, sugar, and milk to the melted butter. Stir with a fork until just combined. Batter will be lumpy — do not overmix. Scatter peach slices and blueberries evenly over batter. Lightly sprinkle cinnamon on top. Bake 30 minutes or until light golden brown.

Adapted from Cooking with All Things Trader Joe’s

Mini Apple Pie in Muffin Tins

Yield: 6 pies

Cook’s notes: When you make these delightful little pies, remember to chop the apples much smaller than you would for a pie, about 1/4-inch cubes. The smaller pieces, for the smaller pies, will make eating easier and the appearance more appealing.
2 Granny Smith apples
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 tsp flour
1 tsp cinnamon
2 pre-made pie crusts (store-bought, without lard)

Heat oven to 425F. If pie crust is frozen, begin thawing it.

Peel, core and chop the 2 Granny Smith apples. Toss the apples, brown sugar, flour, and cinnamon in a large mixing bowl.

Unroll the pie crust on your work space. Use a rolling pin to press it flat and smooth. With a four-inch diameter cup, glass, or bowl, cut out six circle pieces of crust. Place one crust circle in each of six muffin spaces. Press the dough to mold it to the inside of each muffin cup. Evenly divide the apple mixture into the six crusted muffin cups.

Knead the leftover crust pieces and roll it out with your rolling pin. Cut thin strips of crust and place them over the little pies, first one way then the other, making a crisscross on each. Or use a second pie crust, cutting three-inch diameter pieces and covering the entire top of each tart. Make slits to allow the steam to escape.

Cut off any excess crust from the thin strips (or top crust) and press the edges of the top and bottom crusts together by pinching or using a fork.

Bake the muffin tin apple pies in a preheated 425 degree oven for 16 to 18 minutes. Check the pies at 16 minutes. Allow the tiny pies to cool within the muffin tin before removing them.

Adapted from ehow.com (link)

9 Apple Pie

Cook’s notes: This is a truly amazing pie. Roll the top crust out, because you have a lot of apples to fit in there! This pie is a hit at Thanksgiving or any holiday.

Mile-high apple pie...with almost no sugar

Pastry for a 9-inch double crust pie (I use two store-bought pie shells without lard)
2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp brown sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
9 apples — peeled, cored and sliced: use 3 Fuji, 3 Granny Smith, and 3 Gala apples
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1 Tbsp butter
Heat oven to 425 F.

In a large bowl mix together flour, brown sugar, salt, and cinnamon. Add apples and lemon juice. Toss until apples are thoroughly coated. Allow mixture to sit for 10 minutes.

Pour apples into pastry-lined pie plate (bottom shell). Dot with butter. Cover with top crust. Seal edges and cut steam vents in top crust.

Bake in preheated oven for 35 to 45 minutes, until crust is golden brown.
Adapted from a “No Sugar Apple Pie” recipe

French Apple Cake with Yogurt

Cook’s notes: This recipe is adapted from one that was published in the Washington Post prior to 1994. The original recipe said to use the empty yogurt container to measure the corn oil, apple, and chocolate chips. However, now that a single serving of yogurt tends to be a 6-oz container instead of an 8-oz container, you’ll have to break out the measuring cups. But this cake is worth a few dirty dishes. You can also make muffins with this batter. Bake 25 minutes.

8 oz container plain yogurt
2.5 cups sugar
3 cups flour
3 eggs
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup corn oil
1 cup chocolate chips
1 cup chopped apple

Heat oven to 350F. Coat a 9- x 13-inch baking pan with cooking spray.
In mixing bowl, combine the yogurt, sugar, flour, and eggs and beat on low speed. Beat well.

Add the baking soda and corn oil. Beat until smooth. Add the chocolate chips and apple. Pour batter into pan. Bake 45 minutes until done.

Chocolate Guinness Bundt Cake

Cook’s notes: This cake is so good that I once made it 3 times during a two-week period. It fetched $55 at a silent auction for charity. It is very similar to a Nigella Lawson version baked in a spring-form pan, but a Bundt pan is easier to deal with. Nigella’s version has 10 Tbsp butter and 3/8 cup sour cream. Someday, I’ll see if the reduced amount of butter works in this recipe). The cake is so moist that it doesn’t need a ganache glaze, cream cheese frosting, or even a sprinkling of powdered sugar. It tastes wonderful served plain.

Best chocolate cake ever

2 cups all purpose flour
2 cups sugar
1.5 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter (16 Tbsp)
1 cup stout (such as Guinness Extra Stout)
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (preferably Dutch-process; preferably Double-Dutch Dark Cocoa by King Arthur)
2 large eggs
2/3 cup sour cream

Heat oven to 350F. Coat a Bundt pan with cooking spray or melted butter well; make sure you get in all of the nooks and crannies. (Carroll Pelligrinelli recommends using a pastry brush to brush on solid shortening and then dusting the pan with flour. She says, “Make sure all areas are covered, especially the center cone.”)

Whisk flour, sugar, baking soda, and 3/4 teaspoon salt in large bowl to blend.

Melt the butter and bring it to simmer in heavy large saucepan over medium heat. Gently stir in the stout. Whisk in the cocoa powder until mixture is smooth. Cool slightly.

Using electric mixer, beat eggs and sour cream in another large bowl to blend. Add stout-cocoa mixture to egg mixture and beat just to combine. Add flour mixture in two batches, and beat briefly on slow speed after each addition. Using rubber spatula, fold batter until completely combined. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake cake until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 35 minutes. Transfer cake to rack; cool completely in the pan, then turn the cold cake out onto a rack.
Adapted from smitten kitchen

Best Recipe: Rum Bundt Cake

Cook’s notes: This classic Bundt cake appears on several Web sites as “Jamaican Rum Cake,” but I learned it from Ann Hodgman’s book. It doesn’t matter what you call this, it’s the best thing you can do with a boxed cake mix.

Makes 1 large Bundt cake, serving 12 to 16. You can also use a mini-Bundt cake pan to make 12 little cakes; bake for about 20 minutes (check at 15 minutes).

Cake
1 box (~18 oz) yellow cake mix without pudding in it
1 box (3.5 oz) instant vanilla pudding
1/2 cup cold water or milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup dark rum or vanilla rum
4 eggs
1 cup toasted pecans or walnuts, chopped
1 Tbsp vanilla

Glaze
1/2 cup butter (1 stick), softened
1/4 cup water
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup dark rum or vanilla rum

Position a rack in the center of the oven. Heat oven to 325F.

Lightly butter or grease the inside of a 12-cup nonstick Bundt pan. Dust the pan with flour and tap out the excess.

In a large mixing bowl, beat all cake ingredients on low speed for 30 seconds. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Beat on medium 2 minutes more.

Pour batter into prepared Bundt pan. Bake 50 minutes at 350∞F or until done and a toothpick comes out clean.

Make the glaze: In a small saucepan over low heat, melt the butter. Turn up the heat to medium, stir in water and sugar. Bring to a boil. Stirring constantly, boil for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the rum. Brush the top of the cake with about 2 Tbsp of the glaze. Let cake stand for 5 minutes.

Invert the cake onto a plate and unmold from the pan. Brush the cake with the remaining glaze. Cool completely.

Adapted from Hodgman, Ann. Beat that! cookbook. Shelburne, VT: Chapters Pub., c1995

Easy Italian Buffet Party Menu

Cook’s notes: An article on Associated Content recommended this buffet menu for an easy Christmas menu, but I think it would work at any time of the year. I’m posting this menu for future reference.

• Cheese and cracker platter (two to three cheeses with “interesting crackers”)
• Veggie tray with Italian dip (mix 16 oz container of sour cream with one package of Good Season’s Zesty Italian Dressing)
• Two pounds of cooked shrimp with cocktail sauce (use the instructions given by Alton Brown in “Crustacean Nation”)
• Meatballs in sweet and sour sauce (mix cranberry sauce and chili sauce; heated in the slow cooker. I’d use turkey meatballs.)
• Eggplant lasagna
• Sausage cacciatore with green pepper, mushrooms, onions and marinara sauce. Serve with plain cooked pasta.
• Antipasto salad with bagged lettuces, tomatoes, peppers, onions, salami (sliced in small strips), and other Italian cold cuts. Serve with Italian dressing. (See also the antipasto recommendations in Caprese Salad on Toothpicks.)
• A few crusty loaves of Italian bread (purchased)

Details on these dishes can be found at the original article.

Yogurt Smoothies

Tried and True Smoothies (20 oz)
Blend 1 cup plain, non-fat yogurt, 2 fruit servings (such as 1/2 banana and 1/2 cup frozen berries), and 1 oz almonds (30 ea) or 1 oz cashews or 2 Tbsp nut butter. Optional: Add 1/2 cup low-fat milk if mixture is too thick.

Chocolate Cherry Smoothie (Adapted from Cooking for 2):
Blend 1 cup plain, non-fat yogurt, 1 cup frozen cherries, and 1 cup chocolate almond milk

Peach Smoothie:
Blend 1 cup plain, non-fat yogurt, 1/3 cup orange juice, halves of 1 small peach, and 1 oz almonds

Pomegranate Smoothie:
Blend 1 cup plain, non-fat yogurt, 1/3 cup Pom juice, and 1/3 cup mandarin oranges

Powerhouse Smoothie (adapted from Eat This, Not That)
Blend 1 cup plain, non-fat yogurt, 1 cup frozen blueberries, 1 cup carrot juice, 1 cup baby spinach, 24 almonds, and 2 tsp whey powder

Iced Tea and Lemonade Cooler (1/2 gallon)

Cook’s notes: This blend of iced tea and lemonade (“tea-monade”) is also known as an “Arnold Palmer”.
1 quart strong iced tea (32 oz): made with 4 cups water, 1 tsp sugar, and 4 regular-size strong black tea bags, such as PG Tips
1 quart strong lemonade (32 oz): Combine 1/2 cup simple syrup, 1 cup lemon juice, and 3 cups water

Make the tea: Heat 2 cups water in a measuring cup in the microwave for 2 minutes. Add the tea bags and 1 tsp sugar to the hot water. Steep for exactly 15 minutes (set the timer). Discard the tea bags without squeezing them. Pour the tea in a 2-quart pitcher; add the remaining 2 cups water.

Add lemonade ingredients to the pitcher and stir well. Let the mixture cool, then chill and serve over ice.

Variations:

• Boston Iced Tea: Use 1 cup unsweetened cranberry juice instead of 1 cup lemon juice.
• Pineapple Iced Tea: Use 4 oz pineapple juice and 4 oz lemon juice instead of 1 cup lemon juice.
• Tangerine Tea Cooler: Use 6 oz tangerine juice and 2 oz lemon juice instead of 1 cup lemon juice.
• Vanilla Almond variation: Add 1 Tbsp vanilla extract and 1 Tbsp almond extract.

Credits: Lemonade adapted from a recipe in the book Lemonade by Fred Thompson. Tea brewing technique based on Hodgman, Ann. Beat that! Cookbook. Shelburne, VT: Chapters Pub., 1995. Almond variation adapted from Taste of Home and a recipe from the Dallas Symphony Cookbook (1983), p.31. Pineapple variation adapted from a recipe by John Fischer, About.com